Zeljko Tomasevic was once the youngest coach in Montenegrin football, he was 29 years old when he sat on the bench of the first team of Iskra, after previously following a natural coaching path by leading the younger categories. It was in 2008.
Seventeen years later, Tomašević is still a young coach, but with vast experience gained on the domestic scene (five years at Iskra, three on the bench at Cetinje, Mladost DG, Koma), but also on the international stage.
Somehow it slipped "under the radar" that he worked in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and from 2021 until two months ago in Qatar.
- After six years abroad, I returned to Montenegro - says Tomašević, and the reason for his return is of a family, or rather paternal, nature.
His daughter Maša Tomasevic is the most talented Montenegrin footballer, who recently, when she turned 18, officially became an Inter player in a sensational transfer from Buducnost.
- I wanted to be as close to Masha as possible, to support her in this big step in her life and career. I think that's the role of a father.
He could, he says, continue his work in Qatar, where he has been the coach of Al Ahli's B team for the past four years. There he first collaborated with our Nebojša Jovović, and then with the Portuguese Pepo and a Croatian coach Igor Bišćan.
- All these years my role has been to prepare players for the first team. Qatar has a B-team league, modeled after the English U23 league, in which young players play, as well as players who, due to the decisions of the head coach or due to injuries, do not play. The model is clear - the B team plays according to the concept of the first team, the players have roles and tasks that are required of them in the first team, and it is up to me to prepare them through training and matches so that they are ready to compete for the first team - emphasizes Tomašević.
- The fact that I stayed at Al Ahli for four years shows that I did a good job and that I cooperated well with all the coaches. I have been a long-time colleague and friend with Nebojša Jovović, and with Pep and Bišćan I have always had an extremely professional relationship of mutual respect - says Tomašević and emphasizes:
- Given the nature of this job and the huge competition, I can truly be proud, without false modesty, that I stayed for a long time wherever I worked. Five years at Iskra, three at Cetinje, now four at the same club in Qatar. I consider this proof that I did my coaching job well and conscientiously.
Qatar was once a developing country when it comes to football, and now it is a country, not the only one from that part of the planet, that has developed to the maximum professional level and has become an important factor on the Asian and even world stage.
Tomašević witnessed these changes.
- Qatar has a lot of money, but football doesn't recognize that and money is no guarantee of success. One of the problems was that young men from Qatar who play football have everything in life even without football, so it was difficult for them to accept the rules of professionalism and that football is, in a way, a struggle. Everything on the field has to be earned. Little by little, they accepted that, and the foundations of the player development system were laid with the arrival of numerous coaches from Europe. The results are visible both at the club and national team level, and there is no need to waste words on the organizational level, everything was seen at the 2022 World Cup.
Tomašević is now back where he started.
- Almost a quarter of a century has passed since I became a coach, I have climbed all the steps, gained experience and new knowledge. Although I have not been in Montenegrin football for long, I am glad that I have not been "forgotten". I was very proud when I heard that my name was mentioned among the candidates for the Buducnost bench, after the sudden departure Ivan Brnović"I am currently focused on helping Maša and being with her, but the coaching profession, of course, attracts me as much as it did on the first day, as does the desire to return to Montenegrin football, because I think I can pass on the knowledge I have gained all these years," Tomašević concluded.
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